Fixed Emergency SWAT Team Knife, High Carbon Steel

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The Becker BK3 Tac Tool, now made by Ka-Bar, resulted from a collaboration between Ethan Becker of Becker Knife and Tool and John Benner of Tactical Defense Institute. The original purpose of the Tac Tool was to provide emergency entry into locked or barricaded rooms. Even though the BK3 was designed for urban SWAT teams, it became a popular survival knife for wilderness travelers as well.

Twelve and 1/2 inches long, the BK3 Tac Tool works as knife, chisel, and machete. It's a great all-around tool for camp work as well as a powerful survival tool to pack in the car or boat. Weight of 1.3 pounds makes it a little heavy to carry on the hip, but it's useful for nearly anything you'd normally use a camp axe to do, and it's much more versatile. With 7 inches of combo-serrated cutting edge, a square chisel point, and a wire cutting notch, the Tac Tool could get you into or out of nearly any situation where unlimited destruction is allowed. Neat work might be a problem.

The cutting notch in the back of the nearly 1/4-inch-thick blade of chrome vanadium 1095 high carbon steel is useful for cutting line, copper, wire, and even harnesses, but might be difficult to use in close quarters on seat belts. Finesse isn't the tool's major strength. In keeping with the chisel concept, the cutting edge is a single bevel ground at 15 degrees. The flat back makes the blade a very accurate chopping tool, but it's definitely made to favor right-handed use.

Built with a Grivory grip bolted to a strong full tang, the BK3 Tac Tool by Ka-Bar comes with a matching glass-filled nylon sheath. Only the sheath is imported from Taiwan -- Ka-Bar's BK3 is American-made in Olean, New York.